On the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Reservation

November 1996

Read from the bottom up

November 15, 1996

Judge Bell from Marquette upheld the lower courts decission to return the
records to FFJ. Fred Dakota's people said they would appeal this.

Nov. 11, 1996
The situation at the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is deteriorating. We have
word that the Tribal Police have been ordered to enter Catholic Church property
and serve warrants on Father John Hascall (the pastor of Holy Name of Jesus
Church who has been providing the group Fight For Justice with sanctuary for
the past 14 months) and members of Fight For Justice. The KBIC Tribal Police
is now a largely non-Indian force, hired after the dismissal of a number of
Indian tribal police who earlier refused to follow orders to raid Church property
and serve the warrants. We are expecting an assault on the Holy Name of Jesus
Church, convent and rectory within the next week. The Witnesses For Non-Violence
will be returning to the compound in the hopes of preventing violence. We
are issuing a call to all those who have been monitoring the situation here
to join the Witnesses at the Church (located on US 41,several miles northwest
of Baraga, Michigan) and to call or fax the following numbers, urging negotiations
and a peaceful resolution to this dispute.

Around 9:00 P.M., Mr. Robert Curtis had gone to the edge of the FFJ compound
on his ATV and was watching the deer graze on the baseball field. The baseball
field is on the Most Holy Name of Jesus Church grounds. This is where they
viciously tackled and threw him to the ground by two KBIC tribal police
who jumped out from a dugout where they were hiding. They dragged and abused
this 54-year-old elder who was on the ground off the compound. When they
were off the compound they took him away and apparently one of the police
officers drove Mr. Curtis's ATV away.

After awhile, his wife and children put out the word he was missing. There
was an extensive search of the surrounding woods. People came and were combing
the woods in the freezing weather with flash lights looking for him, all
the while hoping he wasn't hurt too bad. As the hours dragged on, calls
were made to the local hospitals and jails to see if he were hurt or picked
up on the bogus warrant that they issued from the tribal council. After
a call to the Marquette county jail where they informed FFJ that tribal
police had called asking to house Mr. Curtis there but they had told them
they would not accept Robert Curtis then. A member of FFJ went to the tribal
police station and talked with Dwayne Misegan, whose father is one of Fred
Dakota's backers on the tribal council. Officer Misegan told them "No.
We don't have him in custody. And if he is still missing by nine o'clock
to come in and file a missing person report."

When the police headquarters opened Mrs. Curtis and FFJ Attorney Mr. Clark
went there and Mr. Clark demanded to speak with his client. Still denying
that they had Mr. Curtis in custody one of tribal police officers left the
room and after awhile he returned and told them they could see Mr. Curtis.

Later that same day Brad Dakota set an excessively high bond of $10,000.00
in cash for three misdemeanors charges. They are now holding Mr. Curtis
in the Marquette County jail.

In the evening of Nov 8, 1996 tribal police chased and arrested George
Curtis, son of Mr. Robert Curtis. As of right now the reason for arresting
George are as yet unknown.

KBIC Police Brutality
On the evening of November 2, 1996 KBIC police responded to a complaint and
arrived a home on the reservation where 3 youths were at home. They were 2
boys aged 13 and 1 boy age 14 at home when the police arrived. The police
told the boys they were there on a complaint and the boys invited them into
the house. The police asked questions and apparently not liking the answers
proceeded to viciously attack these boys. All 3 boys were beaten black and
blue, in addition, one youngster had 2 black eyes that he received from the
police. Yet a another one of the boys who still after a week has hand and
finger bruises around his throat where the police repeatedly choked him. The
refrigerator in the home was almost destroyed beyond repair from where the
police repeatedly threw the boys against it.